


Looking for Someone

by EncasedinEmotion



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Not overly romantic, just a cute lil fic i guess, slight romance, wait does it count as a drabble if it's over 2000 words?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9377117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EncasedinEmotion/pseuds/EncasedinEmotion
Summary: Leo finally realizes why he's suddenly been so distracted through this war.





	

The blunt force of the Faceless’ fist connected loudly with the side of Leo’s armour. He grunted in pain as he stumbled back from the monster, his arm automatically curling in to cradle his side. It didn’t help much, as the armour he wore stopped his arm from supporting the sore part of his body. His eyes narrowed as he glared at his enemy, angry with himself for lowering his guard.

Magic began to gather in the palm of his hand, purple and glowing brightly. He painfully sidestepped another swing from the Faceless before launching Brynhildr’s magic directly into its chest.

A smirk made its way onto Leo’s face before he could stop it, thankful the horde of monsters he had run into had finally been defeated. He had been separated from Niles and Odin during the skirmish in the woods and hadn’t had the time to go looking for them before he was attacked. It didn’t worry him, as Leo often classified himself as a strong and skilled warrior. It was rather out of character for him to take a hit, and from such a juvenile enemy no less. But his focus had been lacking throughout the past couple of days.

Leo’s eyes scanned the battlefield for the thousandth time, sweeping over the distant, moving forms of allies and enemies alike. He recognized the red flash of Siegfried even from across the battlefield, and it was easy for him to spot Camilla on her wyvern, only a small blur of purple and green in the sky. Leo supposed Elise was with her, knowing that Corrin often paired his sisters together. But even after confirming his family was safe during this battle, Leo still felt uneasy. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but the irritation he was beginning to feel let him know that he hadn’t found it.

“Looking for someone?”

Leo inhaled sharply in surprise and winced as pain shot through his ribs. He quickly snapped Brynhildr shut before turning to face his retainer. Niles held his bow loosely at his side and cocked his head in a way that shifted his hair over his one good eye.

“No,” Leo answered, but he didn’t think he sounded very sure of himself.

“Are you sure about that,” Niles challenged. He sounded skeptical, and most definitely didn’t believe Leo’s answer. Leo narrowed his eyes at him, and nodded once.

“Alright,” Niles drawled out. “It’s just… You’ve seemed very distracted of late.”

Leo shook his head. “It’s nothing, really,” he repeated. It looked as though Niles was about to comment again, so he quickly changed the subject. He was tired answering the same question over and over again. “Are you alright? Where’s Odin?”

Niles rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, jerking his head backwards towards a particular dense part of the woods. “I left him in there,” he explained in a bored voice. “Kept going on about the mystic tree of something, or the vile whatever of darkness.”

Leo nodded knowingly and narrowed his eyes at the group of trees behind Niles. “Right. Well, I need to find a healer so I’ll be making my way back towards the mass. Can you go find Odin and bring him back with you?”

Niles’ face instantly darkened, his smirk falling away completely. “A healer milord? Are you injured?”

“Only slightly,” Leo replied. “It’s really nothing to concern yourself with,” he added when he noticed Niles tense.

“Pardon me Lord Leo, but if you’re injured, should my priority not be to make sure you’re alright before I go and fetch the weirdo out of the woods?”

“Honestly, I’m fine,” Leo brushed off his concern. “The weirdo also needs to report back to Xander and I’m not going to look for him.”

Niles’ sharp eye had now locked itself on Leo’s dented armour. “But if you’re injured milord…”

“Gods, Niles,” Leo began, his exasperation building. The uncomfortable, unsettling feeling was growing within him, and he felt an urgent need to be back with the main group. He didn’t need Niles worrying so much over something as simple as a bruise. “I will be fine. Go find Odin. If it must be an order, then so be it,”

Niles didn’t question him further, shrugging his shoulders before giving one short bow and then heading back into the trees from which he came.

Having confidence that Niles would listen to him, Leo turned and began making his way back towards the army, hoping that reuniting with his siblings would banish the unsettling feeling resting within him. However, Leo was farther from the army than he thought, and his side was starting to bother him now that majority of the adrenaline had worn off. He suddenly regretted leaving his horse behind, assuming it would be irritating and dangerous to try and have her traverse through the woods.

Teeth gnashing together, Leo made his way over the terrain in the general direction of the remainder of the army. The pain in his side was growing rapidly, and his stumbling over the uneven ground wasn’t doing much to help him.

He cursed under his breath as he knelt down under a tree. Regret at sending Niles away from him surfaced and Leo sighed in frustration. He was normally much better than this, he thought angrily. A brainless enemy like a Faceless had never posed a problem to him before. It embarrassed him to no end that he was suffering so much from one injury, from one enemy. He let his head fall back against the tree behind as his eyes closed.

It’s this feeling that won’t go away. That had to be the cause of all his distress. This unknown distraction that tore his focus away from anything he was doing. Whether it be fighting, reading, or trying to fall asleep at night, an anxious feeling swirled through his abdomen and stayed with him through most of the day. There were times it disappeared completely, like through war council meetings, but Leo could not figure out why. At first he thought it might be because he was making an active attempt at ending this war, but if that was what helped, then why did it return worse when he was in the middle of battle?

He leaned his body forward to rest his head in his hand, but he forgot about how sore his body was. A groan of pain escaped his lips as his ribs bumped against the inside of his armour.

“Leo!”

“Sakura?”

The call of his name snapped his eyes open and he craned his neck forward slightly to try and see if his guess was correct.

The second her face peered out from behind a large tree in front of him Leo felt amazed at the new feeling that settled in his gut. Suddenly, he felt calmer than he had all day. He blinked as he recognized this feeling as immense relief. When he locked eyes with Sakura, a strange weight lifted off his chest, one he didn’t even realize was there.

She moved forward and crouched in front of him. Her mouth was moving, but Leo wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying.

_Looking for someone?_

Niles’ voice echoed in his mind from earlier. His eyes had swept over the battlefield, and while all his family was accounted for, the familiar pink bob of Sakura had been missing.

_You’ve seemed distracted as of late._

Leo’s eyes closed as the realization came crashing over him. Distracted. Right. War councils calmed him down because she was there with him. He could see her, he could be assured of her safety. Actual battles terrified him, as he had no idea where she was or if she was alright or not. Gods, this was not something he needed. Falling in love during the middle of a war was one of the most dangerous things a person could do. And with a princess from a rival country? They might be working together for now, but what would happen after the war? What would his family say? What would _her_ family say?

Why was he even thinking about this?

“L-Leo!!”

Soft hands cupped his face and lifted it up. His eyes flew open to stare right into the face of a very frightened looking Sakura.

“Leo, a-are you alright? Are y-you losing consciousness? W-were you hurt?”

His face flushed at their proximity and he shook his head. “No… no I’m not losing consciousness.”

“Oh th-thank goodness,” she breathed out, her hands falling away from his face. He couldn’t help but keep his eyes fixed on her face. The more he looked at her, the more he was sure of it. He loved her.

She seemed uncomfortable under his intense gaze and she cast her own eyes down. They landed on his dented armour and her hand automatically moved to feel the damage. “O-oh! But you were h-hurt?”

“I was,” he spit out angrily. “A Faceless... My side is aching. That’s why I’m sitting here.”

Sakura nodded in understanding. “W-well I can’t see anything b-because of your a-armour. But I c-can help with the p-pain. I don’t want t-to heal you completely w-without looking at your injury. Okay?”

Leo nodded and Sakura raised her festal. The familiar pulse of healing magic washed over him and he sighed as the pain in his side lessened considerably.

 “Thank you,” he said gratefully when she lowered her festal.

Sakura gave him a timid smile. The wind picked up and shifted the branches of the trees around them. Sakura glanced around the area uneasily and Leo felt a rush of protectiveness wash over him.

“We should probably be getting back to regroup,” he commented while standing and trying to pull Bryhildr out without causing her worry.

She nodded in agreement and Leo offered his hand to her. He smirked as he saw her face blush red before taking his hand, allowing him to pull her up.

He led the way through the trees, his ability to walk on the uneven ground much easier now that the pain he was feeling was virtually gone. Every now and then he would cast a glance back at Sakura to make sure she was keeping up. Eventually she hopped forward a bit, in order to walk right next to him.

“Wh-where’s Niles and Odin,” she asked. “Aren’t th-they usually with y-you?”

Leo nodded as he ducked under a low hanging branch. “Yes they are. We got separated for a bit and Odin gets distracted easily, so once I had met up with Niles I sent him to retrieve Odin and meet me over with Xander.”

Sakura nodded and it took Leo a moment to realize that she had retainers as well. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head towards her. “Aren’t you supposed to have retainers as well?” He couldn't keep the biting tone out of his voice.

Sakura seemed to notice. She cast him a curious look before nodding again. “Y-yes but I was only w-with Subaki today, and I l-lost him easily because his Pegasus w-was having troubles in the f-forest.”

“I see,” Leo replied stiffly. His hands clenched into fists and he was unable to fight down his annoyance. Sakura was an unarmed healer that was wandering about through the forest on her own? It was incredibly dangerous and he was now rather glad that he had stopped to take a rest so she could find him.

When the two royals broke through the tree line they immediately saw the rest of their army. Nobody seemed to be fighting anymore and there were medical tents set up for the soldiers who needed immediate attention. Leo was pleased to see that they had been successful in their mission. Sakura had a smile on her face and had turned to say something to Leo, but was interrupted with the call of her name.

Leo looked over and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sakura’s retainers were both running towards them, looking rather worried. Leo reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze as a way of saying good bye. He dropped her hand just as fast as he had grabbed it, and he turned to walk towards his own family. He could feel Sakura’s gaze following him the entire time.

At the sight of Leo, Camilla sauntered over to meet him with Elise right at her heels. Xander gave him a nod of acknowledgement from afar.

“Oh Leo, thank goodness you’re safe,” Camilla exclaimed while grasping his shoulders and pulling him towards her for a hug. “When Niles and Odin came back without you, we were all so worried!”

“Yeah Leo,” Elise exclaimed. “Don’t send your retainers away without you again! Oh, and Niles said you were injured. Let me see!”

“N-no, that’s alright,” Leo stammered out, pulling himself out of Camilla’s embrace.

Both his sisters gave him a curious look.

“I had Princess Sakura look at it earlier and I think it would be best to have her continue her work.”

Elise and Camilla exchanged a look before they burst into laughter. Leo could feel his neck flush in embarrassment but he kept a straight face and raised an eyebrow.

“Leo, that’s the worst excuse I have ever heard,” Elise giggled out.

“Excuse,” Leo demanded. “I-it’s not an excuse! It’s just good…medical practice...”

But neither Camilla nor Elise was listening to him. He let out an angry breath as he rolled his eyes and turned his attention over to the healing tents.

Sakura was standing at the entrance to one, wringing her hands on the handle of her sun festal. When she met his eyes, her face broke into a small smile and she jerked her head towards the opening of the tent.

Leo left his giggling sisters behind, thinking it wasn’t such a stupid excuse if it worked.

**Author's Note:**

> It's 2:30 am and that is when I get courage to post things online. This is the first story I'm actually publishing so I hope it's not horrid :)  
> Thanks so much to everyone who reads this!


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